In view of the intense use of herbicides, this work aimed to evaluate the leaching potential of imazapic and isoxaflutole in soil columns, using samples of two Haplorthox soils (LVd sandy loam texture and LRd clay texture), originated from Iguaraçu (PR). Thus, assays were carried out aiming to determine the amount of water necessary to promote herbicide movement in the columns. On the second phase of the work, using only LVd samples, the assays consisted of applications of imazapic (0, 65 and 130 g ha-1) and isoxaflutole (0, 35 and 70 g ha-1) on the top of the columns, followed by application of 40 mm of water. Three days after herbicide application, each column was divided into sections of 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20 and 20-25 cm and bioassays with Brachiaria decumbens and Cucumis sativus were installed to evaluate herbicide leaching. Results from the first phase indicate that irrigation depths > 40 mm promoted herbicide leaching in the LVd samples and of > 60 mm in the LRd samples, for isoxaflutole. The results of the second phase (40 mm of water in the LVd samples) indicate that, depending on the dose and bioindicator applied, imazapic leaching occurred up to the depth of 10-15 cm or of 15-20 cm. Even at the highest rates applied, isoxaflutole downwards movement in columns was restricted to a soil depth of 5-10 cm.
bioindicator; herbicides; environmental impact; soil texture
